No. 3 JMU Clamps Down Late, Beats No. 7 Louisiana, 64-54, in Sun Belt Semis

Sunday, March 10

Pensacola, Fla.

3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

23-10,13-5Sun Belt

Louisiana

17-14,10-8Sun Belt

Louisiana

James Madison

No. 3 JMU Clamps Down Late, Beats No. 7 Louisiana, 64-54, in Sun Belt Semis

3/10/2024 5:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Third-seeded James Madison will have a shot to repeat as conference champions, as it started quick and held off a late rally by No. 7 Louisiana for a 64-54 victory on Sunday afternoon in the semifinal round of the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The Dukes improve to 23-10 on the year after leading wire-to-wire and advance to Monday's Sun Belt title game, where they will face top-seeded Marshall (25-6). The championship game tips off at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

With the loss, the Ragin' Cajuns end their season with a 17-14 record. JMU is now 4-0 all-time against Louisiana and has now won six of its last seven games overall to keep its dream for a second straight NCAA Championship appearance intact.

This will be the 20th time JMU will play for a conference championship, holding a 10-9 mark in previous berths.

Peyton McDaniel tied for game-high honors with 13 points, making a pair of three pointers and adding four rebounds. Kseniia Kozlova was crucial off the bench in her second game back from injury, finishing with 12 points on five-of-six shooting with seven rebounds.

Ashanti Barnes was a force on the glass, finishing with a career-high 14 rebounds while also scoring eight points and dishing out a career-best four assists. Jamia Hazell also accrued eight points, while Chloe Sterling was one dime shy of her career high, tallying a game-high five.

For Louisiana, Destiny Rice came off the bench to match McDaniel's 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Brandi Williams also finished with 11 points.

JMU shot 38.8 percent (19/49 FG) for the game while the Cajuns were held to 31 percent (18/58 FG). JMU smothered UL on the glass by a 53-25 margin, which included a 19-8 lead on the offensive end.

The Dukes led by as many as 11 points, and Louisiana came within a point in the third quarter and four late in the fourth before the Dukes closed the semifinal with the game's final six points at the free throw line.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – JMU 19, Louisiana 11

JMU stormed out of the gate, knocking down a trio of three pointers from three players to lead the Cajuns 9-0 just over two minutes into the game.
Louisiana crawled back, scoring seven of the next nine, making it an 11-7 game with 5:29 to play in the period before Hazell converted a layup and trey for her five first-quarter points, pushing the lead back to nine (16-7) with four minutes to play.
Teams traded scoring and JMU took an eight-point advantage into the first-quarter break.
JMU shot 50 percent (7/14 FG) from the floor and 57 percent (4/7 3PT) from beyond the arc, while UL was held to 30 percent shooting (6/20 FG) and just 12.5 percent (1/8 3PT) from three.

Second Quarter – JMU 33, Louisiana 25

JMU struggled to shoot early in the second, opening the door for Louisiana to nearly erase the deficit. The Cajuns began the second on a 9-2 run in the opening four minutes, getting back to within 21-20.
McDaniel stopped the run with 4:43 remaining in the half with her second triple of the game, the fifth for JMU, putting the Dukes up 24-20.
Leading 29-25 in the final minute, a Kozlova jumper in the paint and free throws by Sterling stretched the advantage to eight at the half.
JMU started 1-of-4 from the floor in the period before making 4-of-5 down the stretch to shoot 55.6 percent (5/9 FG) in the quarter. UL also shot 50 percent (5/10 FG), as the teams matched each other on the scoreboard in the period.
JMU ended the half holding a 20-11 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over 12 times, as opposed to the Cajun's four.

Third Quarter – JMU 47, Louisiana 41

JMU began the second half solid defensively, scoring five of seven to extend its lead to 38-27 with 7:52 to play.
Louisiana answered, holding JMU without a field goal for four minutes and going on an 11-1 run that spanned 3:10 to get back to within a point, at 39-38.
Kozlova provided a spark for JMU, slashing to the hoop for consecutive layups to get the lead back to 43-38 with 3:19 left in the third.
UL got JMU's lead down to three before free throws gave JMU a 47-41 lead heading to the fourth.
Kozlova led the Dukes in the period, scoring five points, adding a free throw to her ledger. JMU shot just 26.7 percent (4/15) in the third, while Louisiana was at 40 percent (6/15).

Fourth Quarter – JMU 64, Louisiana 54

Olivia Mullins opened the fourth with a big three, and Kozlova followed with a jumper in the paint to extend the lead to 52-41 with 8:44 to go.
Trailing JMU 58-47 with three minutes to play, the Cajuns knocked down a huge trey to spark a 7-0 run to get within 58-54 with 1:23 to play.
A defensive stop by the Dukes inside a minute to play gave them the ball back. Carole Miller sank both free throws on the other end, moving the lead to 60-54 with 38.2 remaining.
UL wouldn't make another shot, as four more free throws iced the semifinal win for JMU.

GAME NOTES

JMU shot 52.4 percent from the field in the first half (11/21), as opposed to Louisiana's 32.1 percent (9/28). JMU made five threes while limiting UL to just one on 10 tries.
Barnes went over 10 rebounds in a game for the seventh time this season, leading to her career-high performance on the glass.
Hazell recorded a pair of blocks, tying her career high.
JMU didn't allow a single second-chance point, outscoring UL 17-0 in that category. The Dukes also had a 31-21 lead in bench points and 24-16 in the paint while Louisiana had a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
JMU had 15 assists on 19 made shots, while UL had just a pair of assists in the game.
Louisiana turned the ball over just five times while forcing JMU into 21, making 11 steals.
JMU has the opportunity to win the three-game season series with Marshall, as it was the only team to defeat the Thundering Herd during conference play – a 72-63 victory in Huntington, W.Va., back on Feb. 3.